London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

A total of 22 people were arrested in the raids on brothels, three sex shops and two lap-dancing clubs.

The operation last night followed an 18-month undercover investigation into premises suspected of being used as fronts for handling stolen goods.

Plain-clothes detectives found evidence that watches, jewellery and mobile phones stolen in shoplifting and robbery sprees in the West End were being “converted” to cash at brothels and other addresses.

The probe found links with organised crime networks involved in trafficking women into Soho brothels, as well as drug dealing and theft rackets.

After the raids last night a dozen women, mostly from eastern Europe, working in squalid rooms, were taken to safe locations where they will be questioned. Police believe that some were trafficked into the country and forced into prostitution.

A middle-aged man left a brothel with a scarf over his face. Another man living in a third-floor flat above four brothels said: “I know what goes on downstairs but I’m not a part of it.”

The blitz, codename Demontere, was Westminster’s biggest in recent years. More than 200 officers raided 40 addresses, including 22 brothels.

Inquiries have shown that Soho’s vice industry has been taken over by eastern European gangs in recent years.

Ch Supt Paul Rickett said: “Some people say the Soho sex trade has its bohemian side and long may it reign. But they should know the full story.

“Victims have identified brothels where they have been trafficked for sexual exploitation and raped.

“Our aim is to make Soho a safe place to live, work and visit and also to make it a really hostile place for criminals to operate in.”

Commander Alison Newcomb of Westminster Police said: “Yes its edginess is why some people come here, but when they do come here we want them to be safe, not to be robbed, and enjoy their night out.”

She added: “This is not about the prosecution of prostitutes, this is about making the area safe. We do know a lot of the women are trafficked or are vulnerable so this is about taking the danger out of Soho.”

One woman, who had been out celebrating her birthday at one of the area's well-known venues, where customers are charged £1,600 for a “VIP stay all-night package”, said: “I came here with some friends to have a few drinks on my birthday and then all these police officers arrived. It was strange at first, but I ended up getting a picture with one of them in the end.”

Police seized class A drugs, cash and stolen smartphones from the clubs.

The English Collective of Prostitutes, condemned the raids saying some “immigrant women were taken into custody on the pretext that they may be victims of trafficking, despite their protestations that they were not being forced to work. Other women were given papers instructing them to appear in court today and tomorrow.”

The group said police had raided 25 sex workers flats and slapped closure notices on the doors.

Cari Mitchell, from the collective, said : “It is outrageous that the police are raiding premises where women are working together safely and collectively with friends. The police must know that some women will end up working on the street as a result, where it is much more dangerous. Most of the women thrown out of premises are mothers and grandmothers who have now lost their livelihood.”